From upper left, clockwise: New Britannia Club balcony stateroom and Britannia Club restaurant, bedroom of redesigned Grand Suite, new Chart Room(Renderings: Cunard Line)

Cunard Line's Queen Victoria will be gaining Britannia Club balcony staterooms and dining plus a new Chart Room bar during a more than $40m refit at Fincantieri's Palermo shipyard.

The vessel will be out of service from May 5 to June 4 for work that also entails refreshing all Britannia staterooms and redesigning the Grand Suites and Deck 8 aft Penthouse Suites.

New to Queen Victoria is Britannia Club dining with the addition of an intimate restaurant and 43 spacious Britannia Club staterooms (Categories A1/A2) in a prime midship location on Decks 7 and 8. The accommodations will feature newly designed carpets, soft furnishings, flat-screen televisions and tea/coffee facilities. The Britannia Club restaurant will offer the flexibility for passengers to dine whenever they choose.

Located in the space of the former Chart Room, the new restaurant will be built alongside the main Britannia restaurant on Deck 2.

M Design director Alan McVitty, who consulted on the redesign, said he drew upon inspiration from archival imagery of Cunard ships and the architectural elements of its buildings in Liverpool and New York.

The Cunard Grand Suites (Q1) will be redesigned and reconfigured to maximize space, offering enhanced comfort and entertainment options. The Aquitania, Berengaria, Mauretania and Laconia suites will have similar square footage to those on Queen Elizabeth at approximately 1,436 square feet. Refreshed elements include a new color scheme that harkens back to the line’s history with its signature Cunard purple.

Created to mirror a luxurious residential apartment, the suites offer fabrics with a variety of rich textures and layers. The Grand Suites also include floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, a separate service entrance and hospitality preparation area, a separate snug room with TV, a lounge, master bathroom with sea view, a second bathroom with guest access, a bedroom TV that folds down from the ceiling, a walk-in wardrobe with additional storage units and a generous dual aspect balcony.

Five new Penthouse Suites (Q4) on Deck 8 aft will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, defined living and sleeping space and bathrooms with natural light. New color schemes reflect Cunard’s signature jewel tones, deep red in this case, and geometric patterns.

Queen Victoria's new Chart Room will be located on Deck 2 off the Grand Lobby, where Café Carinthia is currently found. The Chart Room will feature illy coffee, Godiva chocolate treats and light bites by day and cocktails by night. Cunard also will introduce a gin and fizz themed menu to the Midships Lounge, including a variety of wines, proseccos, cavas and Champagne alongside premium gins and spirits, all blended to create cocktails with a modern twist.